title: Molecular imaging with terahertz waves.
abstract: We demonstrate a highly sensitive THz molecular imaging (TMI) technique involving differential modulation of surface plasmons induced on nanoparticles and obtain target specific in vivo images of cancers. This technique can detect quantities of gold nanoparticles as small as 15 µM in vivo. A comparison of TMI images with near infrared absorption images shows the superior sensitivity of TMI. Furthermore, the quantification property of TMI is excellent, being linearly proportional to the concentration of nanoparticles. The target specificity issue is also addressed at the ex vivo and cell levels. The high thermal sensitivity of TMI can help extend photonic-based photothermal molecular imaging researches from the in vitro level to the in vivo level. The TMI technique can be used for monitoring drug delivery processes and for early cancer diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical Convergence Research Institute, Severance Biomedical Science Institute, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jihye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Inhee
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maeng
authors.forename: Jae Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kwangyeol
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yong-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Jin-Suck
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Seungjoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haam
authors.forename: Joo-Hiuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Son
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055069:Terahertz Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*